Vodafone plans to sell stake in Verizon

On Thursday, Vodafone Group confirmed it was in advanced discussions with Verizon Wireless to sell its 45 percent stake in the company.

On Thursday, Vodafone Group confirmed it was in advanced discussions with Verizon Wireless to sell its 45 percent stake in the company.

Although such talks have been held repeatedly in recent years, it appears that the two sides may be days away from finalizing a transaction that could cost as much as $130 billion.

Such a sale is not likely to affect consumers in the short term. But analysts said Verizon's desire to assume total control of its wireless operations indicates just how crucial that business has become, even as competition becomes more heated.

In trading, shares of Verizon Communications Inc. were up 2.7 percent, while Vodafone's U.S. shares surged 8.1 percent.